The second chapter of the book of Daniel records a dream that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had. The dream was a bird's eye view of world history from about 600 BC down to the present day and beyond. In his dream he saw an image made of different metals which was struck on the feet by a stone which destroyed the image. The stone then grew in size and filled the world.
Daniel then explained that the metals represented successive empires while the feet represented a period of unstable division.
He said that the head of gold represented Babylon. Babylon was followed by three more successive empires. Following the fourth empire there would be a period of division. The whole image would then be destroyed and replaced by a worldwide empire that God would establish.
As we can see below this bird's eye view has proved to be remarkably accurate. This gives us confidence that the final stage of the prediction will also happen.
